


Fight for our Stars

by NandaWrites



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Battle Couple, Battle Couple Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, M/M, Meta, Stream of Consciousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 01:58:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13179990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NandaWrites/pseuds/NandaWrites
Summary: Fighting was the job. It was either easy or difficult, a success or a failure, extremely painful or less so, but it always had to be precise, meticulous and efficient. Well balanced teams, accurate intel, a sound strategy whenever it was possible. Fighting to Alec was also knowing how to calculate all the odds and making the right decisions, it was a crucial part of ensuring those he cared about were safe.Alec had never thought fighting could also be pretty. Not until he met Magnus.





	Fight for our Stars

Fighting wasn’t fun. It wasn’t a game, it wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t easy, it didn’t feel good. Alec knew there were others that thought it so, he had spent years seeing the light shine in Jace and Izzy’s eyes as demon after demon fell before their blades and whips, he knew they craved the fight, the exertion, the tough challenges that took all from them and allowed them to come out on the other side better than they were when they got in, with a proud smile on their faces amidst the blood and ichor.

Alec didn’t feel like that. Of course, he had always put all of himself in the trainings to get better, to be perfect, and sparring with Jace and Izzy had always been fun, but the craving for battle? The sense of fulfilling his purpose with every kill? The feeling that the battle field was exactly where he belonged in the world? He didn’t have that.

To him, fighting was about protecting the ones he loved. Slowing demons down so Jace’s blade could slice them with a clean cut, blinding others so they didn’t see Izzy’s whip coming until it was wrapped around their neck and separating head from torso, taking care of the ones coming in from behind because as amazing as his parabatai and sister were, they still didn’t have eyes behind their heads. Jace’s enthusiasm seeped into him through their bond, of course, but when they high fived on the end of another battle, his own smile and sense of pride was due to seeing both of them there, alive and well.

Fighting was the job. It was either easy or difficult, a success or a failure, extremely painful or less so, but it always had to be precise, meticulous and efficient. Well balanced teams, accurate intel, a sound strategy whenever it was possible. Fighting to Alec was also knowing how to calculate all the odds and making the right decisions, it was a crucial part of ensuring those he cared about were safe.

Alec had never thought fighting could also be pretty. Not until he met Magnus.

Magnus fought like he was dancing, with graceful moves and lines of magic flying all around him. Jumping, twirling and turning, arms stretching around him, golden-green cat eyes narrowed with focus and reflecting the blue sparks that surrounded him and exploded against demons with deadly accuracy. 

It wasn’t something he did often, and a trained eye like Alec’s could see the small falter in some steps, the slightly too close calls; nor it was something – like Alec – that he took pride in, but it was a necessary skill he had learned when he was young and that he would never allow himself to forget.

Like Alec, Magnus fought to protect. Innocent Downworlders from the raging hands of the Circle, his friends from the dangers they had encountered throughout the centuries, his city from invaders and menacing forces, the people he loved from the world. Alec hated how he had been made to fight more and more lately – how _they_ were making him fight more and more lately, – how easily he was willing to put his life on the line for him, for them; but he also loved him for it, for helping him keep his family safe, for having a heart so big and truthful even when he tried to hide it under cynicism and flippant remarks.

Magnus wasn’t used to being protected. Hadn’t wanted it when he was young and hadn’t needed it in a long time. When you have been powerful for centuries, no one even thought of offering, which is why it had taken him by such surprise the first few times Alec had covered for him, got in front of him to repel a demon, asked in the middle of the battle if he was ok. Alec could see it made him roll his eyes sometimes, - after all, he was the High Warlock of Brooklyn for a reason - but the smile it left on his face and the warmth that spread through his heart were genuine.

Even for how long he had been alive, it hadn’t been often Magnus had fought side by side with Shadowhunters, and the few times he did it was mostly each one being left to their own adversaries inside a bigger battle. To Alec, fighting alongside others that weren't Nephilim was a brand-new experience. So, it took both of them by surprise just how easily they could fight _together_ , fitting themselves around each other in the battle field like it was nothing.

When Magnus used his magic to confuse and bind, Alec moved between the rays of energy like it was easy, rolling, jumping and running until he found just the perfect angle to shoot one of his arrows or was close enough to use a Seraph Blade. When Alec’s arrows flew around the battle field, Magnus’ magic followed, taking care of the ones that were right behind. 

They knew when to work together and when to let each other be, when to cover for each other and when to focus on the others. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t instinctual like it had always been for him and Jace, but they were learning, growing together, and at every fight it got a little easier, a little more as if they had always been a tightly knit group, covering for each other’s weaknesses and furthering their strengths.

Fighting would never be fun. It would never be easy. It would never be a game. But seeing Magnus’ smile on the other side of a defeated enemy made it just a tad bit easier. Pulling him close after the fight was over and kissing him while they were both still reeling with adrenaline made it just a tad more fun. And if they could keep fighting together for their rights, for what they believed in and to protect those that mattered to them, be it in or out of a battlefield, then Alec could finally feel like he had found his place in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Want a fic? I am always open for prompts on [Tumblr](https://nandawrites.tumblr.com/tagged/writings).


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